Hoarfrost Trial
Event "Colbjorn the Betrayer, you are to survive in the forest, with neither sustenance or warmth." The elder of Clan Eyebright awaits you both at the edge of the "Grim Wilds" - a glacial forest of blizzards, beasts and treachery. "If the ancestors see you through this night, you are forgiven." You place your foodstuffs into a basket. The player loses all of their Food. The elder can't help but look longingly at the charming miniature pies you recently bought. "I don't want to beg, but many in the clan go hungry each night..." 1) Keep your food. :(insert text here) 2) Give your food to the Elder. :"For your kindness, a reward." :The player acquires a Blessing. With little ceremony, Colbjorn descends into the Grim Wilds. He gives you a word of warning. "The Grim Wilds will offer us no refuge from the cold - we must keep moving if we want to survive." Early Afternoon It is still bright out as you delve further in. The metal handle of your weapon chills your side. 1) Keep moving. The intense cold makes it hard to think - it is difficult to remember whether a path or tree is familiar or new. Dice Gambit (Target: 12) Success :You stumble across a small stone shrine. A roughly chiseled figurine of a vulture (Or is it a human?) sits within. :Colbjorn drops a few coins into the shrine and prays. :1) Give gold and pray. (Lose 2 Gold) ::You drop a few coins into the frozen offering bowl and bend your head in prayer. ::The player loses 2 Gold. ::The shrine spirit answers your prayer as it sees fit. ::The player draws a Life Gain Card. :2) Explore someplace else. ::The hours pass... Failure :Colbjorn silently gestures for you to hide, but it is too late. A group of Northerner warriors crash through the thicket and confront you. :The Dealer draws 2 Frost Monster Cards. :The Northerners recognise your companion immediately. One of them spits in your direction. "So, you've come to side with the Empire?" :"If we don't kill you today, slink back to your keepers, kings of their mud flats, and tell them that the snow is coming to cleanse them all." :The player enters Combat. :Colbjorn cleans his swords in the snow. :A) Explore someplace else. ::The hours pass... :B) Ask who they were. ::Colbjorn inspects the markings on the warriors' chests. "They are clan Mugwort, of the West Forest." ::He has little else to say after that. Late Afternoon The sun is setting, bathing the Grim Wilds in warm orange. If you were not knee-deep in icy snow, you could perhaps enjoy the beauty of it. Colbjorn stands like a morose statue, ignoring the sunset. 1) Keep moving. :The intense cold makes it hard to think - it is difficult to remember whether a path or tree is familiar or new. :Dice Gambit (Target:12) :Success ::A crow cocks its head at you and speaks in the common tongue. "How now, wanderers in the Grim. Are the wanderers lost? Do they require assistance?" ::A) Appease the crow. (Lose 1 Equipment) :::The player must choose 1 Equipment Card. :::You place the equipment at the crow's feet. :::Chance Cards Gambit (1 Huge Success, 1 Success, 2 Failure) :::Huge Success ::::The crow flaps its wings exictedly, tapping the equipment with its beak. "Yes, this is perfect! For acquittance, to the treasure cave I will lead." ::::Then, it flies off into the forest. ::::Tree by tree it flies, like an inky black beacon, leading you to a cave. ::::"Treasure awaits," the crow squawks. "If you find a shining scale, that is mine. Only appears in the night, it does." ::::Beneath a fallen overhang of immense rock you find a small opening leading to a treasure cave. ::::Colbjorn's torch throws shadows around the stone cave, revealing a solitary chest surrounded by animal bones. ::::If it is night: Something sparkles in the corner. ::::1) Loot the chest. :::::As you reach for the lid, it opens and - snap! it closes painfully on your hand. It's a mimic! :::::The player draws a Life Pain Card. :::::You decide to leave it alone for now, exiting the cave quickly. ::::2) Investigate the sparkling object in the corner. (only available at night) :::::The sparkling object turns out to be a lizard scale the size of your hand, its glassy green surface faintly luminous. You wonder what enormous creature it belonged to as you slip it into your satchel. ::::3) Explore someplace else. :::::(insert text here) :::Success ::::(insert text here) :::Failure ::::The crow moves the equipment distastefully with its foot. "What bavin rubbish is thus?" ::::The talking crow's eyes glow red. "From now, until the Great Winter takes all, when you pray at Thunaer's shrine, accursed." ::::It flaps away haughtily. ::B) Give the scale to the crow. (after acquiring it from the cave) :::The crow rubs its beak affectionately against the scale. "Thank you, adventurer, for returning my love to me." :::"You may have one of my trinkets." It flaps away and quickly returns, dragging something through the snow. :::The player acquires an Artefact. :::You leave the crow to click and coo over the scale. ::C) Explore someplace else. :::(insert text here) ::The hours pass... :Failure ::(insert text here) 2) Try to find the shrine again. :(insert text here) 3) Try to find the talking crow again. (after finding it) :Dice Gambit (Target: 12) :Success ::Repeat crow event. :Failure ::(insert text here) Night The pitch black of night has arrived in the Grim Wilds. Bitter cold seeps into your bones, wracking your limbs with pain as you move. The player draws a Life Pain Card. Even Colbjorn struggles to kindle a torch, let alone keep it alight against the biting winds. 1) Keep moving. :The intense cold makes it hard to think - it is difficult to remember whether a path or tree is familiar or new. :Dice Gambit (Target:14) :Success ::(insert text here) :Failure ::As the wind snuffs out Colbjorn's torch, you hear a growl behind you. Something strikes you savagely in the darkness - claws? Colbjorn relights his torch, but whatever attacked you is long gone. ::The player draws a Life Pain Card. 2) Try to find the shrine again. :Dice Gambit (Target: 14) :Success ::You stumble across a small stone shrine. A roughly chiseled figurine of a vulture (Or is it a human?) sits within. ::Colbjorn drops a few coins into the shrine and prays. :1) Give gold and pray. (Lose 2 Gold) ::The gold glimmers in the torchlight as you drop it in the shrine and pray. ::The player loses 2 Gold. ::The first prayer at night: :::There is a mournful sound of wooden flutes in the distance, and suddenly before you stands a spectral figure - a woman with no eyes. :::Colbjorn continues to bow his head in prayer - he seems unperturbed by this sudden apparition. :::Barefoot, with a thin shawl clutched around her, she stands before you and speaks in a deep voice, each word ringing out like a gong. "Mortal, you summoned, but I smell no blood, nor enemy slain, to honour me." :::A) Offer something and pray. ::::(insert text here) :::B) Stab yourself and pray. ::::Feeling strangely compelled, you take your dagger from your belt and drive it hard into your gut. ::::The player draws 4 Life Pain Cards. ::::The spirit smiles as your blood splatters onto the snow. Immediately, you feel frost touch the wound. ::::The ghost blesses you as it fades away. ::::The player acquires Thunaer's Boon. ::Subsequent prayers: :::The shrine spirit answers your prayer as it sees fit. :::The player acquires a Curse. :::The player draws a Life Gain Card. ::C) Explore someplace else. :2) Explore someplace else. ::The hours pass... :Failure ::(insert text here) 3) Try to find the talking crow again. (after finding it) :Dice Gambit (Target: 14) :Success ::Repeat crow event. :Failure ::You can barely make out where you're going in the darkness. ::As you trudge through the darkness, you step straight into the jaws of a bear trap! The pain is excruciating. ::The player draws a Life Pain Card. 4) Try to find the treasure cave again. (after finding it) You've lost your bearings. The hours pass... You try to keep moving through the pitch black forest. Sharp pains wrack your limbs as you move. The player draws a Life Pain Card. Repeat main options. Dawn (insert text here) "The elder should find us soon." Colbjorn grunts. (Same main options, but Dice Gambit targets are 12 again). As day breaks, the elder of Clan Eyebright greets you with a tin cup of steaming tea. You gulp it down quickly, sighing with relief as the elixir's warmth spreads through your body. "The ancestors have judged you worth, Colbjorn." The old Northerner places a wrinkled hand on his chest and bows. The player gains 8 Fame. The player gains this card's token. The elder watches as a small bird alights on the tree beside him. "...I fear our clan is no more, but the hearth of Clan Eyebright may still burn true in the Endless Halls. Restore our honour, Colbjorn. Avenge us." "In the weald, by our village, lives a shaman. Appeal to her mercy, see if she can tell us more." Unlocked By Acquire the Token for Clan Eyebright. Token Unlocks For surviving the Hoarfrost Trial... Shaman of Eyebright Weald Category:Encounters Category:Brimstone Encounters Category:Companion-Specific Category:Tokens Category:Encounter Tokens Category:Brimstone Cards Category:Chance Cards Gambits Category:Dice Gambits